Regulation of Personal Contact between Father and Daughter

Facts

[A.] and [B.] are the unmarried parents of [C.] (born 2008). They had made an agreement in 2010 regarding joint parental responsibility and visitation rights, which was, however, long outdated. On March 2, 2022, [B.] requested the Child and Adult Protection Authority Thun (KESB) to re-regulate the personal contact. The KESB made a new regulation on April 27, 2023, against which the father [A.] filed a complaint. The Supreme Court of the Canton of Bern dismissed the complaint on September 5, 2023.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court notes that according to Art. 273 CC, parents who do not have parental responsibility or custody, and the minor child, have a mutual claim to appropriate personal contact. The child's best interests are the paramount consideration. The lower court has rightly taken into account the will of the now 15-year-old daughter, who was able to…